The breeds of domestic ducks in the direction of their main productivity are divided into meat, common use and egg yachts.
Meat ducks of productivity are characterized by a large size and weight, can in a short time give a large amount of high-quality meat.
The duck meat breeds include: Peking, gray Ukrainian, black white-breasted, white Moscow, etc.
However, this technique was very little experienced in specialized laboratories. The disease lasts for a period of 2 to 5 weeks, and after the procedure, the liver can grow up to 12 times compared with normal body weight. According to experts, the rate ranges can be beneficial either for the purpose of capitalization for meat, or with an emphasis on the capitalization of the liver, which sometimes gets 10 times more expensive than meat. In addition, the costs of creating such farms are similar to the costs of establishing a poultry farm, indicating that feedstuffs are worse than those of chickens.
Peking ducks.
The name of this breed of ducks is given at the place of selection - the birds were bred by Chinese poultry farmers. They were brought to Europe in the second half of the XIX century.
The description of this breed of ducks is as follows: head large, broad with a convex frontal part; orange-yellow beak, legs low, thick, reddish-orange; eyes are big, brilliant. The neck is thick, of medium length; white plumage with a yellowish-cream shade. The wings are strong, tight enough to the sides. The body is long, elevated; chest wide, deep.
Pay attention to the photo - the Beijing ducks have a long, wide back:
Live weight adult bird: drake 3.5-4 kg, ducks 3-3.5 kg, the average weight of one egg is 85 g, the slaughter weight of the duck is 89-90%. Peking ducks have a good egg-laying for 2-3 years. Egg production in one year is in the range of 80-120 pcs. and higher. They are hardy, easily tolerate harsh winters.
Bred in the experimental farm "Borka" Ukrainian Research Institute of Poultry by directed breeding work with local gray ducks without the participation of other breeds.
Gray Ukrainian ducks, strong and mobile, well foraged on reservoirs, are distinguished by precocity, good meat qualities, high egg production.
They have a strong constitution, well-developed muscles, dense, light and abundant plumage. The head is small, slightly elongated, with shining eyes, strong beak. Legs short, strong, widely spaced. The body is wide, deep. Drakes have a head dark gray or black in color, with a brilliant greenish tint. The beak is olive, the neck is dark brown with a white collar. The ducks have a dark-brown head with two black stripes, and the beak is dark-olive, with a black claw at the end.
These photos show the duck breeds described above:
Ducks Ukrainian breed group. Breed group was created by a team of authors under the guidance of M.V. Dakhnovsky method of purposeful breeding with local gray ducks without using other breeds.
Key performance indicators:
- Egg production for the year of egg laying - 150-180 pcs .;
- The average weight of one egg is 82-86 g,
- Live weight at this age: drakes - 3.3–3.7 kg and ducks 3.0–3.2 kg.
- The color of eggs is white.
This is one of best breeds ducks with record-breaking productivity indicators: egg production for the year of egg laying - 195 pcs .; the weight of one egg is 92 g; live weight at this age: drakes - 3.9 kg, ducks - 3.5 kg.
In white, gray and clay ducks of this breed group, the torso is horizontally set, slightly elevated in front, long, wide and deep; head small sizeslightly elongated; the neck is relatively thin; legs short, widely spaced.
White ducks have white plumage and beak, and their legs are yellow. The head of gray drakes is black with a green tint; beak is dark green; the back is black brown; chest red-brown. In females, the plumage is dark gray like that of a wild duck.
Clay drakes have a chestnut head with a bronze tint. The beak is green, the trunk and chest are brown.
The ducks have a chestnut brown head with black stripes from the beak to the neck. The ducks of this species are larger than gray ones. Reproductive ability: the average fertility of eggs is 90-94%, the average output of ducklings is 70-73%.
They were bred by the method of complex reproductive crossing of local Ukrainian black white-breasted ducks with Peking and khaki-Campbell. They have a slightly raised body with a wide, deep chest.
As seen in the photographs, the back of this breed has a wide, long back with a significant slope from the shoulders to the tail:
The plumage is black, part of the abdomen and chest is white. The drakes have an upper part of the neck with a blue-violet tint. Legs are low, of moderate thickness, black. The beak is slightly concave, of medium length; eyes are black, shiny. The wings are developed, strong and tight to the sides.
The main characteristics of the productivity of ducks of this breed:
- Egg production for the year of egg laying - 130-140 pcs.,
- Egg weight at 52 weeks - 83-88 g,
- Live weight at this age: the drakes - 3.5-4 kg, ducks - 3.0-3.5 kg.
- The color of eggs is white.
- Record productivity indicators: egg production per laying year - 210 pcs .; the average weight of one egg at 52 weeks is 93 g, live weight at this age of the drakes is 4.5 kg, and ducks 3.8 kg.
See photos of domestic ducks ukrainian breeds, which you have read the description above:
Indian runners.
The origin of this breed is South Asia. They were brought to Europe in the first half of the 19th century, but they became widespread in Europe since the 1920s. XX century.
Runners are distinguished from other duck breeds by a penguin-shaped body, with high legs and a long, thin neck. When moving, runners do not roll over from side to side, like other ducks, but run quickly, which is why they were called runners.
Pay attention to the photo - the body of this breed has a long, narrow body, vertically set with an elongated small head and a rounded chest:
The most common color is white.
Ducks produce 180–200 eggs per year, the average mass of one egg is 60–70 g. The live weight of the drake is 1.8–2.0 kg, the duck is 1.5–1.8 kg. Runners can successfully get divorced on land runs.
Khaki Campbell.
The ducks of this breed were bred at the end of the last century in England by the method of complex reproductive mating, which used Indian runners, rouen ducks. Ducks of this breed have high egg production - 150-170 eggs per year. There are cases when individual specimens differed in record numbers - 350 or more eggs. The plumage fits tightly to the body; for ducks it is brown (khaki); on the back and on the wings have a lighter border.
In the drakes, the color of the plumage of the head, neck and chest is brown-bronze, on the rest of the body the feathers have a brownish-sand tint; body slightly raised; chest broad, rounded; the beak at the drakes is dark green, the ducks are greenish-black; the neck is of medium length; the tail is short, narrow, legs orange.
See what these ducks look like in the photo:
Egg production 150-200 pcs. in year. The weight of the drakes is 2.5-3 kg, the ducks are 2-2.5 kg, the weight of the 65-day-old young animals is 1.3-1.5 kg; Ducks are very mobile and perfectly forage on reservoirs.
Displayed in North America, in the CIS countries were introduced in 1960-1970. They are mostly characterized by black plumage with green tint. Muscovy Ducks They are also called indoutouts, because they have pink-red fleshy appendages (like turkeys) near the base of their beak, which produce fat with a musk smell.
The bird flies well, does not quack, but hisses, like a swan, has lean, tender, tasty meat. The weight of ducks is 2.0– 2.5 kg, the drakes are 3.5–5.0 kg, egg production is 90–100 eggs, and the duration is 33–35 days. Bred in homestead farms.
For the production of duck meat in the conditions of large specialized duck farms, they use Peking and Ukrainian ducks, as well as created highly productive crosses: Blagovarsky, Medeo-2, Temp.
These photos show the ducks, which are described on this page.
The most common hybrid. Live weight of hybrids at 7 weeks of age: ducks - 3.2 kg, and drakes - 3.4 kg, hatchability of young stock - 78%, safety of ducklings - 98%, feed costs - 2.8 kg per 1 kg of increase, average daily gain - 64-68 g.
It consists of two factory lines: Beijing breed M, - father, has a high growth rate, M2 - maternal, has a high fecundity. The egg production of ducks in 40 weeks is 175 eggs. Paternal line ducks at the age of 44 days have a live weight of 3.1 kg with feed costs of 3 kg per kg of gain.
Watch the video showing duck breeds and crosses:
What do domestic ducks look like: exterior of birds
The exterior of a duck is a description of its appearance.
The interior is a feature of the internal structure (anatomical and histological) of individual organs and tissues in different kinds and breeds of farm animals and poultry, which are interrelated with the functional activity of the body and determine the direction and manifestation of the animal's productivity, provide the body's response to changes in the external environment.
The main purpose of studying the exterior is to determine its useful economic qualities by the nature of the composition of the bird.
In addition to the productive qualities of how the duck looks, that is, on the basis of studying the exterior characteristics, it is possible to determine the breed to which the bird belongs, the body strength, which is especially important when selecting a bird to the broodstock.
In the selection and formation of breeding stock of ducks, the most important are the following articles.
- Head The ducks are different in shape, but they must be wide, with the right beak.
- Neck at different breeds happens various length. Ducks with short and thick necks have good fattening qualities. With a narrow body, the bird has an elongated and thin neck.
- Eyes - large, convex, clear and shiny.
- Chest - deep and convex shape, well developed.
- Back - forms the basis of the entire body, and its size indicates a good development of the lungs, heart and reproductive organs. It should be wide enough not only behind the neck, but also at the tail.
- Torso. When inspecting the body pay attention to its width, depth and length. The width of the body is judged by the width of the back, abdomen and chest. Wide and deep body indicates adequate development of the digestive and reproductive organs. The long and wide brisket indicates a strong build, a developed muscle tissue that covers it. The lower torso line should be straight; a weak bird has a pendulous backside.
- Wings must fit snugly to the sides; ducks with saggy, dry and twisted wings are culled.
- Stomach - lower torso; the brisket, which serves as the base of the abdomen, is straight and even.
- Tail - medium length, not compressed from the sides and not sagging. When selecting ducks, it must be borne in mind that a steep tail is found in a bird with a narrow and short back.
- Legs should be strong, of medium length and thick in the foot, arranged vertically and widely spaced, which is connected with the width of the chest and torso, toes without growths, with normal membranes.
When forming the herd, one should pay attention to the tarsus coloration with fingers - signs inherent in one or another breed.
The plumage is well developed, smooth, shiny and tight to the body (except for the period before the start and during the molt).
It is better to select young animals for the tribe from those ducks that were bred in March, April or May. At the same time during the summer it is necessary to observe their behavior and development. Those ducklings who were active and eat their food with appetite should be left for the winter. The selected ducks should not have flaws in their physique, their mass at 5-6 months of age should be at least 2.5-2.7 kg. Breeding ducks up to 3.5 months of age are fed the same way as ducks intended for fattening. Their diet includes more fresh greens, and whole grains are given first in wet mash, gradually teaching them to eat the grain in its pure form.
How long does juvenile and periodic molt in ducks
Shedding is a change in the feather cover of a bird that occurs at a specific time. Adult ducks molt 2 times during the year. The change of feather cover in drakes, which are distinguished by sexual dimorphism in the color of plumage, is accompanied by a change in the color of feathers (gray local, khaki Campbell, etc.). Depending on the breed, productivity, climate, feeding conditions and content, the dates of molting in ducks can vary, but as a rule, the first molt of ducks takes place in summer, in May - June, the second - in autumn.
During the summer molt, a complete change of the plumage takes place; in the fall, the small and medium feathers are renewed. The following processes of plumage change are distinguished: current, intensity, chronology, duration.
The loss of feather ducks with periodic molting occurs in the following order. Simultaneously with the beginning of the fallout, the tail feathers shed the abdomen, the lower part of the neck and the chest. The loss of feathers from the front of the back begins days later, but the change of the feathers proceeds much faster and ends when the duck is faded by half. The hip feathers fall out the most. The wing moult begins with the simultaneous loss of the 1st and 2nd order feathers. Flywheels of the 1st and 2nd order and tail feathers have a typical sequential shift.
The fallout of the feathers begins from the inner edge of the wing and extends further from the body.
The procedure for dropping the duck steering feathers is as follows: if we number them in pairs, starting from the middle of the tail, the central pair falls first, then the 3rd; 5th and so on, and 2nd and 4th fall out later. The change of steering feathers characterizes the flow of molting.
Significantly less duration of molting of feathers. How long does this duck molt? Normally feathers completely fall out in 10-15 days. The molting of feathers begins one month after the start of the helmsman’s molt, that is, at a time when the small feathers of the ducks were half-wilted.
Summer and autumn molt occur with the same intensity: the duration of each molt is 60 days.
The first (juvenile) molt of the Peking and local ducks under different conditions of detention, judging by the loss of the steering feathers, begins at the age of 71-80 days. At the same age, the ducklings grow more intensively on limited runs. The less intensive juvenile molt of ducks reared on the reservoir is mainly due to the conditions of feeding and keeping close to natural. Have wild ducks Also, there is no intensive drop of the pen in a short period of time.
When growing peking ducks on the pond at juvenile molt, the maximum feather dropping occurs within two decades, from the 91st to the 110th day, the molt ends in the 121st to the 130th day; when growing Peking ducklings on limited runs, the greatest molting intensity occurs from the 81st 100th day, dropping the feather, ends on the 111-120th day.
Duck diseases: photo of symptoms, treatment and prevention
Patients ducks can always be identified during feeding. They, as a rule, do not approach the stern, but sit away from the herd. The main measure of disease prevention is to isolate a sick bird from a herd in time. If signs of poultry disease appear, contact a veterinarian.
The most common infectious diseases of ducks are paratyphoid fever, pasteurellosis, helminth infections, and hepatitis. Like all other birds, with a lack of protein, minerals and vitamins, ducks can have pecking and feathers falling out. In addition, the lack of vitamins A, D and group B causes various changes in the body of ducks.
Hepatitis. A disease in which the liver is affected. Ducklings are particularly affected by this disease. The symptom of this disease ducks are cramps, and then death occurs.
For the prevention of hepatitis, the room where the bird was kept is thoroughly disinfected. It is necessary to fight rodents and insects, which in the first place can be carriers of this disease.
If the first signs of the disease appear (when detecting worms in the litter), at home you can medicate onions, garlic, shredded pine needles, and spruce for medical purposes. For the treatment of this disease, duck is injected with anthelmintic drugs: phenothiazine, piperazine, etc. No litter is left in the room: it must be removed as often as possible.
These photos show duck disease symptoms:
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